Fully Entitled II

This one was originally posted on the ol’ Facebook, on November 28, 2016. Porting it over here to be with its sister, Fully Entitled (Part I). You will see the crossover and reiteration:

When I was young, and growing up in Wyoming, LGBT was called something else. People of color were called something else. Women were expected to do certain things, and not others. On one hand, these rules were the common understanding. On the other hand, sat the people who hungered for diversity. In a land devoid of diversity, some of us were dying. I did, indeed, vocally disagree with the common understanding, and sometimes, I was shamed for that. It is our country’s way, especially in horrid little pockets. I, and many others, am motivated, in light of the resurgence of old ways, to resume MY old ways, too. I am enjoying, greatly, that people of color are enraged by this shaky ground we are on, and are in fact, expressing more power. My fellow white friends, don’t call it reverse racism, that is a farce. And I am not a white fool. Don’t confuse my cheering for anything other than a delight in the beauty of the power of others, for I am grounded deeply in my own excellence. I delight, therefore, when it is manifesting for everyone around me. I delight, therefore, when I see it shining out of the faces of the disenfranchised. I am celebrating it, thoroughly. This has led to some people feeling uncomfortable. Fair, it is a touchy topic. Some people have felt the need to advocate to me, on behalf of their personal, or faction-driven, exclusionary beliefs. If you are one of the many people reading this, who may have sent me or any of my friends or loved ones such material over the past one year, I want to make it very clear where I stand, on two fronts. 1) I am happy to continue loving you, and accepting that it is not my job to help you understand the heart of inclusion-based living. That said, I will not tolerate discussions centered around the defense of any exclusionary policy or belief you may carry. If you honor our friendship, let’s allow dust to settle, and I will trust that you won’t shine your insecurity about your stance, nor your overexuberance about your stance, onto me. My inclusion includes you. 2) I am definitively on the side of defending the basic rights to food, shelter, and love, of all people. I believe, without hesitation, whatsoever, that every person has the right to have anything I am able to have here in the United States of America. Specifically, lest anyone feel confused, I stand with the LGBT community. I stand with people of all color. I stand with people of all religious affiliation. I stand with refugees. I stand with people who do not speak my language. I stand with those who are emotionally, physically, developmentally, or otherwise viewing and participating in the world through different frames, understandings, and abilities than I. I stand with you regardless of your financial constraints or blessings. I stand with you if you are a terrible person some days, or a beautiful and robust person most days. I stand with you if you are on welfare, or if you are not. If you are police, teacher, or barista, I stand with you. Really, I just stand with you. Please don’t ask me to stand against anyone else, unless they are imminently trying to harm any single living creature or man. Thank you.